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Old 02-18-2003, 06:06 PM   #36
InklingElf
Shade of Carn Dûm
 
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Tolkien

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The reason Tolkien included many gods in his stories is because he was very interested in mythology, especially Norse. I don't think that he was in any way supporting other religions (if he was Christian, why would he preach about other religions so very different from his?), but was taking mythology and Christianity along with other elements and combining them for the purpose of a story. That's all they are - stories. And very good ones as a matter of fact. When I read the Lord of the Rings, I can't help but think "Oh, that sounds like this Bible story," but I shouldn't do that. I believe Tolkien wanted to be unique in his writings and not sound like what has been written before.
Excellent point. I agree with Tolkien Gurl. Tolkien, though religious is very mythopoetic in his writings [i.e., The Lord of the Rings, the Silmarillion etc.].

I also believe, that even though LOTR contained a whole lot of Biblical Allusions, that it is indeed a fantasy that reflects the real world, how one progresses through hard times in life [i.e.,Frodo], and how that one person defeats evil/darkness.

Like Melichus said:
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Almost everyone gets something different out of Lord of the Rings, whether Tolkien meant these things or not. And, like they say, what really matters is what we get out of the work, regardless of what the author's original intent/ideology was.
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